Arts Place, Inc., an arts- and education-based organization with
programming in Jay, Blackford, and Adams counties, has been announced as the
inaugural recipient of the Ball State University Community Engagement for the
Arts Grant.
The Community Engagement for the Arts Grant is an annual
competitive grant program offering 12-month funding of up to $35,000 to an
external East Central Indiana community arts-focused organization or program.
The funding is intended to support projects in any creative discipline that
encourage public appreciation of art and education in the arts, promote
diversity within the local arts community, and make the arts accessible to all.
“We are proud to present Ball State University’s inaugural
Community Engagement for the Arts Grant to Arts Place,” said Dr. Seth Beckman, dean
of Ball State’s College of Fine Arts and
member of the University’s Community Engagement for the Arts Grant selection
committee. “At Ball State, in line with our strategic priorities, our
University aspires to be internationally recognized for mobilizing and leading
partnerships that revitalize and sustain our city and our region. We are
excited to see how Arts Place utilizes this funding to deliver novel, engaging,
and inclusive experiences to our communities.”
Arts Place’s proposal aligned with Ball State’s
commitment to engaging with the greater arts community of East Central Indiana
by promoting broad participation and equitable access to the various community
arts organizations in the region. With its funding, Arts Place plans to enhance
access to arts education opportunities in the area through a series of artist
residencies and other programming that will increase opportunities for
participation and reach new audiences.
“Arts Place has been offering arts education programs
through CreativeWorks for nearly a half-century. Over the past decade, however,
the revenue streams for many of these activities, especially artist
residencies, has declined. As a result, most of our arts education activity has
focused, by necessity, on the teaching of classes and lessons,” said Eric R.
Rogers, chief executive officer and executive director at Arts Place. “Residency
experiences, which attract a broader audience, have been extremely limited in
recent years. This project will reintroduce the community to a broad range of
community artist residencies that will attract a diverse audience, including
populations often not reached through our classes and lessons.
“We believe it is critical for rural communities to have
access to all the arts,” Arts Place continued. “For that reason, Arts Place has
offered a broad range of arts education experiences that include many different
art forms. This project should be reflective of that approach.”
Arts Place is also contributing its own resources to
bolster the project’s personnel and operations, supplies and materials,
equipment, marketing and promotion, and other direct costs. In all, the project
is expected to top $100,000 in total funding, increasing by more than 50
percent the special arts education experiences Arts Place offers to the
communities it serves.
“The arts are transformative,” Mr. Rogers said. “They
help us gain a new perspective, cause us to think outside the box, and
experience the power of creative expression. Fundamentally, our goal is to
impact the East Central Indiana communities we serve by providing unique
experiences that stimulate such results—one person at a time. The arts provide
ways to engage with our communities in a constructive and positive way.”